Chapter 7 Ford #2
“No. We had talked about it a bunch of times, but it never happened. We would always go to your house, Connor’s, or Rook’s if we got an itch to play with animals.
It always seemed to make Taryn and me happy enough that when we got home, we didn’t bring it up again.
But this is nice. You must have loved having pets as a kid. ”
I had loved it. We had Maxwell, until he passed, but even while he was alive, Ellie had her dachshund, Millie, and a hamster. I had Gus, along with a turtle and a guinea pig.
“Well, you’re an adult now.”
Royce finally lifted her head, so I had those navy eyes to stare into. “You think I should get one? I need to find a place to live first, and make sure they allow pets.”
“Didn’t realize you had plans to move out.” If I remembered correctly, she had to live at home unless she agreed to leave the city. Did that mean she was finally going? That’s what I wanted, right? Why did my chest feel so tight then?
She lifted her shoulder, which made the strap keeping her top up seem incredibly thin.
Shit, her tits were too big for that measly amount of fabric to be considered a pajama top.
It only made me think of the video she’d done for that underwear ad, and all the bullshit I had said to her a few days prior.
“I’ve been contacted by a few modeling agencies since that video went viral. I could look into that, see if I can make some real money with it.”
My throat swelled with the need to apologize, but now I was frustrated too.
“Thought you wanted your dream at the Hollow?”
Gus stretched his front paws out, as if he were waking up. Part of me didn’t want him to, because this seemed to be the longest conversation I’d ever had with Royce Quinn that didn’t involve arguing or fighting.
She drug her fingers over Gus’s head again.
“The Hollow will always be my dream, but I have a gut feeling it’s not going to work out.
Rodney has too much power, and I feel like he’s planning something.
But, let’s say I got it, I’m not sure it’ll pay for my own place outside of Rose Ridge.
Taryn makes a real living off what she does, and if she can do it, then maybe I can too.
If they give me a script and tell me what they want me to wear… I don’t see the harm.”
The fucking harm was that people would see her body, but aside from my own issues, both she and Taryn were linked to Killian, which meant they were linked to the club.
While it wouldn’t be easy to connect Taryn to the club, because of Royce’s tattoo, there was no undoing her connection to it.
If I brought that up, we’d just argue again, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Do you have any idea how much of a salary Rodney makes from the Hollow?”
Her brows dipped, which drew my attention to her freckles. Which unfortunately took me back to a memory of one summer when we were at camp.
“Count how many freckles I have on my back, Ford. I told Connor, if I have more than him, then he owes me his dessert after dinner.” She wore a pink swimsuit that had strings tied in the back, showing most of her back, which I had already been staring at.
Which was why I didn’t need to count, I already knew exactly how many she had.
She had five more than last summer.
“When my mom was there, she barely made ends meet.”
My fingers itched to pet my cat, but only because I missed Gus.
At least that’s what I was telling myself.
My eyes were on her face, but my fingers were idly stroking through soft fur, edging closer to where hers were.
They were also itching dangerously close to the apex of her thighs where her shorts had ridden up indecently high.
She was bare from the video I’d seen and how narrow the underwear she wore was, but even now, I could see the outline of her pussy that pressed against the thin fabric of her shorts.
“She was donating almost all of her paycheck to a nonprofit that helped the elderly. If I remember from reading over the reports, she also gave a chunk to the bartender. She didn’t need the job, so your dad was fine with her only taking a portion home.
It had something to do with her roots and how she started with the Hollow.
Rodney clears over seventy-five thousand a year. ”
Royce froze with her fingers nearly touching mine, her mouth gaping. “What did you just say?”
I was about to repeat myself, but she straightened, which made her tank top dip lower, and my cock swell inside my jeans.
“I do the books, I don’t see his salary, but I see how much the club makes…it doesn’t make enough a year for him to make that.”
I contemplated telling her all of it, that we’d been watching Rodney for a while now.
That Bernie had been concerned that his manager was stealing from him, and reported him to the police.
Our contacts in the department told us the report was buried, so the club approached Bernie and offered to handle Rodney for him, and in turn he agreed to sell to us when he was ready.
Royce wasn’t doing the real books. She was likely seeing whatever Rodney wanted her to, the rest he was stealing from Bernie. If I trusted her at all, I’d tell her.
No, she’d tell Taryn. Possibly Nova and Ellie. “Rose, I hate to say this, but Rodney shows you only what he wants you to see, and I have a feeling he’s been doing that for a while.”
“But…how—” she trailed off, but her fingers had sunk back into Gus’s fur, grazing mine. My breath hitched, which made me instinctually pull back out of fear that she’d pull away first.
It was self-preservation.
I could see her mind was still reeling, her eyes were unfocused off to the side as if she could do all the math in her head, finding where that extra money might have gone.
I needed to apologize for the other night. The words burned my tongue, but right as my mouth parted, someone slammed the door shut below us.
Feet hit the stairs right as someone yelled, “Why is Ford’s truck here?”
Royce stared at the open door like it might grow fangs and detach, then she glanced at me as panic surged her forward. “It was supposed to be a joke because you hurt my feelings.”
My brows fell inward as I tried to work it out, but right as I did, Killian filled the doorway. He was wearing shorts, running shoes, and a hoodie with his chest heaving.
“Ford, what the fuck are you doing in my daughter’s room while she’s in her underwear?”
I swiftly got up from the bed, my mind racing as to what the fuck had just happened. But the next person to barrel through the front door helped clear it up.
“Dad is on his way back, this was genius, Royce—Dad’s going to kill him, I came back as soon as I could, so I didn’t miss the show!” Taryn yelled while quickly scaling the steps and sliding to a stop outside Royce’s door.
“Oh wow, he’s…death stare. Okay, this is actually kinda awkward.” Taryn’s voice trailed off as her gaze bounced around from her dad to me, then to her sister.
My jaw hurt from how hard I was gritting my teeth, but if I opened my mouth, I’d yell at the woman in front of me who had somehow pulled out that drawer in my heart…
Royce set her coffee on the side table before getting to her feet. “Dad, I can explain this.”
Killian moved, and there was no way I was going to fight him in his own home in front of his daughters, so whatever he needed to do to me, I’d allow it.
Even being president of the club wasn’t enough to combat a father’s need to protect his daughter.
I knew this, and with Killian that need was amplified by about a thousand percent.
His fist landed against my jaw, making my head snap to the side and blood well up in my mouth.
“No! OhmyGodwhatIhavedone?” Royce stammered all in one sentence before shifting around the room, trying to get between her father and me. “Dad, I stole his cat. I told him to come over!”
She’d set me up knowing this would be the outcome.
Why was it that instead of hating her, I had a pride swelling in my chest?
Killian punched me again and then gripped me by the back of the cut and drug me out into the hall. Taryn was quick to move to the side as I tried to get my feet under me.
“You’re in your fucking underwear, Royce.
I told you that men from the club were completely off-limits.
These were the conditions you agreed to when you refused to leave Rose Ridge.
I told you this place wasn’t safe anymore.
I told you it didn’t have to be college, but it had to be something.
Anything to get away from here, and you agreed. You agreed to all of my terms.”
This view I had where I was essentially dragged behind Killian allowed me the perfect view of Royce running down the stairs after us, clutching Gus to her chest. Her tits bounced like in the video, and for once I didn’t look away, and I didn’t try to hide it. I watched, and I smiled.
“I’m in my pajamas!”
Killian laughed sardonically. “Royce, you’ve created enough of an issue for me, if you could put on some fucking clothes and keep them on, that would be helpful.”
“You don’t get to treat me like I’m a child. I may have agreed to your terms after you forced my boyfriend to propose to me, by the way!” Royce shrieked at Killian who had finally released me.
“I get to treat you how I see fit. I’m your father, and this is not a normal family or a normal situation. You can’t simply rebel and come out unscathed. You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“What is going on here?” Laura walked in through the kitchen, holding a paper bag of groceries.
Taryn pointed. “Ford devastated Royce, she was a wreck when I found her.”
Laura let out a small gasp while cutting her gaze to Royce.
“It wasn’t that serious, T.”
Her younger sister made some sort of sound. “You were in the onesie with the heated battery pack, Royce. You weren’t even searching for bands on Tik Tok, you were watching funny pet videos.”
“I got him back by stealing Gus…and not telling him that Dad would be home within minutes,” Royce clarified quickly as if she wanted to move on from what her sister had revealed, with a slight flush to her neck and face. Apparently, her sobbing with a blanket onesie was a big deal.
Gus was still purring as I finally gathered myself enough to swipe at the blood on my lip.
Laura set her bag on the counter and moved to the sink, coming back with a wet rag. “And who did this to you, Ford?”
I didn’t respond, so Taryn decided to. “Dad punched him twice then drug him down here by the back of the cut.”
Laura’s blue eyes scanned my face, her brow puckered the smallest bit, and then she released another sigh as she dabbed at my lip. “Need I remind you, Killian, that you are Ford’s godfather?”
“Daisy, don’t start. He was in Royce’s room while she was in her—”
“Pajamas?” Laura cut him off with a raised brow. The two stood staring at one another in a silent battle. I took that as my cue to leave.
“Can I take him?” I held my hands out for my cat, and Royce handed him over with a guilty expression.
“Ford, we’ll talk about this later.” Killian said softly, still staring at his wife.
I shook my head, my jaw was bruised as shit, and I didn’t want to look at him. “You said everything that needed to be said, Killian. I heard you loud and clear.” With Gus in my arms, I didn’t look back as I exited the house and descended the porch steps.
I was nearly to my truck when the door opened, and someone’s feet moved behind me. Taryn caught up to me with her arms crossed over her chest.
“My sister feels guilty about this, but you should know it was my idea.”
Once I secured Gus into his carrier, I shut the passenger side door and made my way around the front.
She wanted a reply, and I knew she was nervous about how this would impact poor Royce who had a heart of gold and a conscience that couldn’t bear the thought of injustice. I used to love that about her, but now it was a bit insufferable. “Understood.”
“You going to keep being a dick to her?”
My eyes slid up, taking in what she was wearing for the first time, and then I smirked while closing the distance between us. “You going to explain to her why you’re wearing that?” I flicked my hand toward the thick, black sweatshirt she wore.
Her face flushed pink as she took a step back.
“Don’t go to war with me, wolf cub, and I won’t bring war to you.”
Her mouth twisted to the side before she tucked her arms in close. “You made her cry. I took that seriously. I can’t see her like that over you anymore.”
“What do you mean anymore? Royce and I haven’t interacted in years.”
Taryn glanced to the side, “Royce has always…” She trailed off. “Never mind, I’m just protective of her.”
I was getting distracted, and I didn’t need to know anything more intimate about the Quinn family while my jaw still ached and my pride seemed completely eviscerated.
With my hand on the door handle, I met her gaze.
“Your sister declared war with me a long time ago. You want me to be nicer, then she’s the one who needs to wave the white flag. ”